Revenge of the watchdog: Linda Keenslams Lunn, endorses May

Linda Keen, former head of the Nuclear Safety Commission, prepares to appear before the House of Commons Natural Resources committee on Jan. 29, 2008. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand

Canada’s former nuclear watchdog slammed Conservative Gary Lunn Friday, warning voters that as natural resources minister he had been out of his depth, and put partisan commitments ahead of ministerial ones.

“He didn’t understand how to run a broad portfolio,” Linda Keen said of her former boss.

Keen, the former head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, broke her silence on the troubled history between herself and Lunn in order to promote Lunn’s rival in Saanich-Gulf Islands, Green leader Elizabeth May.

“I feel obliged to share with voters that, without doubt, Elizabeth May is far better equipped to serve the public interest in the House of Commons.”

May is straightforward, honest, and gets things done for her constituency and the whole country, Keen praised.

May thanked Keen for her endorsement, and her 25 years of public service. The two have been in contact since May called Keen after she was fired from the watchdog position by Lunn, on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in January 2008.

Keen was fired after she ordered the closure of the Chalk River, Ont. nuclear reactor, which she had deemed unsafe. It resulted in a shortage of medical isotopes, which are used for diagnosis and treatment of certain diseases.

But the tension began far earlier, Keen revealed Friday. She said she sensed a problem from the first briefing she gave the new minister.

“He said he wasn’t fond of regulators.”

For a full year before her firing, Lunn had refused all briefings from the watchdog.

Lunn did not immediately return a request for comment from iPolitics.

In 2008, the minister defended Keen’s much-publicized dismissal, saying it was about Keen’s lack of leadership when handling the life-or-death crisis. Lunn was moved to the Minister of State for Sport position later that year.

Opposition parties use Keen’s story to critique what they say is a pattern of Conservative mistreatment of officials and watchdogs. Her name is often cited alongside Veterans Ombudsman Pat Stogran, Canadian diplomat Richard Colvin, Statistics Canada head Munir Sheikh, and Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page.

But Keen insisted this is about supporting the better candidate in a competitive voting system, and not an act of revenge against Lunn.

“I’m pretty sanguine after three years,” she said. “He seems like a cheerful enough guy as a Minister of State for Sport.”